Cameroon national football team- managing organization - Cameroon Football Federation. Head coach – Hugo Broos. The main uniform is green, with a yellow collar, red stripes on shoulders, back red insert with ornament, guest room - yellow with red ornament on a T-shirt, red leggings. Nickname - Les Lions Indomptables (Indomitable Lions).
National team of Cameroon- one of the strongest African teams in history. Played my first match in 1960 year after French Cameroon became independent.
1970 – "Indomitable Lions" succeeded for the first time in final part more or less significant tournament - African Cup of Nations. Next Continental Championship 1972 which took place in Cameroon, brought the team the final 3rd place.
She managed to get into the final stage of the world championship only by World Cup 1982- in Spain, the Cameroonians did not leave the group, while they never lost - all three matches ended in a draw.
On the African continent, the team became the finalist three times in a row African Cup of Nations – 1984 and 1988 she won the continental championship, 1986 - won silver medals.
1990 - the Cameroon national team for the second time in its history got to the final part of the world championship, where it became the main sensation of the Italian world championship - reached the 1/8 finals from the first place in the group, beating Romania and Argentina headed by Diego Maradona. Africans lost only to the national team the USSR, but this match was no longer decisive for them. At 1/8 they knocked out Colombia and only the quarterfinals were lost to the British. Then the Cameroonian striker became widely known Roger Milla- he now has two records of the final stages of the World Cups - he is the oldest participant in the world championships (in 1994 he was 42 years) and the oldest scorer.
The Cameroonians became the first African team to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup, led by a Soviet specialist Valery Nepomniachtchi.
In subsequent years, Cameroonians regularly came to the World Championships ( 1998, 2002 and in 2010 year), but they failed to overcome the group stage.
Gold became a significant event Olympic Games 2000 (Sydney). In the 1/4 finals, the team defeated Brazilians(2:1), semi-final - Chileans(2:1), and in the final - Spaniards (5:3).
Concerning African Cup of Nations– the team won this trophy twice more – 2000 and 2002 .
As the winner of the African Cup of Nations, the Cameroonians took part in the Confederations Cup twice. 2003 - managed to reach the final, beating the Brazilians, Turks and Colombians along the way. In the final, the Cameroonians lost to the French (extra time).
2017 – Cameroon won his 5th title African Cup of Nations taking revenge on Egypt. 64 year old Belgian coach Hugo Bros took charge of the Cameroon national team last February and for various reasons got rid of almost all the stars and just experienced players in a year. As a result, a young (only one person turned 30, the rest 22-26) gathered a hungry team, devoid of sluggish stars, from which no one expected anything. The national team of Cameroon in December was called the weakest in its history, but a month later it won African Cup.
The captain and one of the few experienced players is the forward of the French "Lorient" Benjamin Mukanjo, was recognized as the best player final match with Egypt.
One of the main characters of the Cameroonians is the goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa. He is 21 years old, he is lost somewhere in the reserve teams "Seville", and on African Cup entered the symbolic team of the tournament.
Central defender Michel Ngade-Ngajui– 26 years old, plays for Prague "Slavia", only last year he made his debut in the national team - he suddenly became top scorer teams by scoring group stage winning goalGuinea-Bissau, and in the semi-finals by opening the score with Ghana. Christian Bassogog- the main star of Cameroon and best playerAfrica Cup 2017. He is 21, he played in the 4th league of the USA a couple of years ago, and now he scores for the Danish "Aalborg" and interested in Moscow "Locomotive".
Cameroon's all-time leading scorer - Samuel Eto'o (55 goals), and the largest number of matches played by Rigobert Song (138
).
| Number | Player | Club | Age | Role |
| 1 | Fabrice Ondoa | Sevilla Atlético | 21 | VR |
| 16 | Jules Goda | Ajaccio | 27 | VR |
| 23 | Georges Boque | Coton Sports | 27 | VR |
| 2 | Ernest Mabuka | Zhilina | 28 | Protect |
| 3 | Nicolas N'Kulu | Lyon | 26 | Protect |
| 4 | Adolf Teiku | Sochaux | 26 | Protect |
| 5 | Michel Ngadu-Ngaji | Slavia (Prague) | 26 | Protect |
| 6 | Ambroise Oyongo | Montreal Impact | 25 | Protect |
| 19 | Collins Fai | Standard (Liège) | 24 | Protect |
| 21 | Mohammed Jete | Gymnastic (Tarragona) | 22 | Protect |
| 22 | Jonathan Ngwem | Progresso do Sambizanga | 25 | Protect |
| 7 | Clinton N'Jie | Marseilles | 23 | PZ |
| 11 | Edgard Sully | Nuremberg | 24 | PZ |
| 12 | Frank Boya | Munich 1860 | 20 | PZ |
| 14 | Georges Manjack | Metz | 28 | PZ |
| 15 | Sebastien Siani | Ostend | 30 | PZ |
| 17 | Arno Jum | Heart of Midlothian | 27 | PZ |
| 20 | Carl Toko-Ekambi | Angers | 24 | PZ |
| 8 | Benjamin Mukanjo | Lorient | 28 | Nap |
| 9 | Jacques Zois | Kaiserslautern | 25 | Nap |
| 10 | Vincent Abubakar | Besiktas | 25 | Nap |
| 13 | Christian Bassogog | Henan Jianye | 21 | Nap |
| 18 | Robert Ndip Tambe | Spartak (Trnava) | 23 | Nap |
Today we will fast forward a quarter of a century and remember the magnificent Cameroon team that won the hearts of fans around the world on Italian fields in the hot summer of 1990.
History of success
I can’t say that the success of a great team was some kind of mega sensational revelation.
Firstly, the ground has already been prepared for this - the African teams at the two previous world championships have clearly demonstrated to the world that they are not whipping boys.
On the same day, Cameroon drew three times with rivals in the group and let the future world champions pass ahead - Italians only by a smaller number goals scored, and Algeria was able to win two victories at all - over Chile and Germany, and only a shameful collusion between the Germans and the Austrians in sad famous match, did not allow Algeria to reach the second round.
Four years later, in Mexico, the Moroccan team, having played to zero with the British and Poles, beat the Portuguese in the last round and became the first African team to reach the playoffs of the World Cup, where it adequately lost to the future finalist - the German national team.
Secondly, the composition of the Cameroon national team, although it was not stellar, but many players played in fairly strong European clubs, mostly, of course, French.
And yet, it is this success that is considered to be a qualitative breakthrough for African teams. Suffice it to mention that it was after Italy -90 that FIFA decided to give Africa 3 places among the 24 finalists of the tournament from the next tournament.
Cameroon are out of the group
With all this, the performance of Cameroon was regarded as a sensation. First of all, the composition of the group was conducive to this - the current world champion Argentina, the vice-champion of Europe of the USSR and the strong team of Romania, where the Steaua players, who played in the European Cup final a year earlier, formed the basis.
In the opening match of the championship, I understood why Cameroonians are called "indomitable lions." The Africans fought - there is no other word for it.
Yes, they played hard, if not brutally, yes, two of their players were sent off, but there was something mesmerizing in this indomitable fury and ruthlessness - forgive me Argentines. As a result, the goal scored by François Omam Biyik in the game with ten men and defending his goal with nine men led to the first sensation of the championship - 1:0.
In the match with the Romanians, the stakes were prohibitively high. The fact is that both opponents were not initially the favorites of the group, but they won in the first meetings, that is, victory in the head-to-head confrontation ensured a 100% exit from the group (I remind you that then it was possible to reach the 1/8 finals from the 3rd places in the group).
Extreme caution, fighting in every part of the field, retreat big forces back at the slightest danger - that's how that game went. But here's a replacement. A 38-year-old appears on the field. And it was he who at the end of the meeting with an interval of 10 minutes knocked two balls into the gates of the Romanians. One return ball did not solve anything.
The last match in the group Cameroon lost big - 0:4. There was a lot of gossip about this then - they say that the Soviet coach of Cameroonians Valery Nepomniachtchi gave up the game. I don't really think it was. It's just that the Soviet team was very strong and in case major victory and any result, except for a draw, in a parallel meeting, they took 3rd place in the group and had a chance to go further. In addition, African players are not famous for their iron discipline even now - in the wake of such success, they could well not get together.
One way or another, Cameroon sensationally took first place in a very difficult group, albeit with a negative difference between goals scored and goals conceded.
Cameroon - Colombia
The 1/8 final match with Colombia was, in fact, a mirror image of the game with the Romanians - the same high stakes for both teams, the same cautious game and again replacing Roger Milla, and again two goals scored by him and nothing decisive goal of the Colombians . So the thirty-eight-year-old forward became the hero of the championship and the hero of the nation.
Here I want to deviate a little from the topic. Initially, Milla was not on the national team lists. How he ended up there, said Valery Nepomniachtchi himself.
“The team was then at a training camp in Yugoslavia, when the general secretary of the then-ruling party of Cameroon flew there. "Monsieur Valerie," he said, the Cameroonian people have rebelled. If Roger Milla is not in the national team, they will turn everything upside down. The press and fans want to see their idol in the team. Maybe you can see him in action. The president made the same request the country of Paul Biya".
Valery Kuzmich could not refuse the President's personal request, and a day later in the bilateral competition he put Roger in the second team. And then a miracle happened! Imagine: a man is 38 years old, and he butchers the leading defenders of the national team. Milla was already in the starting line-up for the friendly match with Železničar – the effect was the same.
Missed semi-final
The game against England in the quarter-finals was Cameroon's best, although they eventually conceded. Personally, I explain this by the fact that the Cameroonians were liberated, they had already jumped above their heads, they had become national heroes in their native Cameroon, and the negative result of the match with the British could not disappoint anyone.
Cameroonians responded to Platt's goal in the 25th minute with two accurate shots in the middle of the second half. And they continued to play ... Again the word to Valery Kuzmich:
“Here my guys would cool off a bit and focus on defense, but the gambling Africans ran to score more. Until now, I have an episode in front of my eyes when Omam-Biyik hits with his heel, and Shilton deflects his blow.
And then there were two goals from the penalty spot and the Cameroonian fairy tale ended.
Although no, the fairy tale continued - in the homeland of the players and the coach, a reception was waiting for them at the presidential palace, orders and medals. Well, it’s probably unnecessary to mention about popular love ...
The Cameroon national team is one of the the strongest teams African continent and a regular participant in world championships.
History of the Cameroon national football team
- Participation in the final stage of the world championships: 7 times.
- Participation in the final stage of the African Cup of Nations: 18 times.
Achievements of the Cameroon national team
- African Champion - 2 times.
- Silver medalist - 4 times.
- Bronze medalist - 1 time.
Like many other national teams of the African continent, the Cameroon national team is a relatively young team. The country gained independence on January 1, 1960, and on April 13, the national team met with the Djibouti team and won 9: 2.
This victory remained the largest in the history of the "indomitable lions".
Cameroon national team at the world championships
For the first time, the Cameroon national team got into the year and immediately attracted attention, without losing a single match - a draw with the teams of Poland, Italy and Peru. Only in terms of more goals scored (2 against 1) did the future world champions Italians overtake Cameroon in the group. And if we also take into account that the Poles became bronze medalists of that championship, then the performance of the Cameroon team was considered successful.
But all these were flowers compared to what the Cameroon national team showed to the world at the Italian World Cup in 1990. The team of the Soviet coach Valery Nepomniachtchi was predicted the unenviable fate of outsiders, because their group rivals were reigning champions Argentines of the world, the second team in Europe - and a strong Romanian team.
Already in the first match, the Cameroonians, due to the goal of Francois Omam-Biyik, defeated Argentina, led by, and scored it, playing with ten men, and defended their goal with nine at all.
In the second round, Romania was beaten with a score of 2: 1, both goals were scored by the 38-year-old substitute, who was included in the squad either at the request or on the recommendation of the then President of Cameroon, Paul Biya.
The third match, lost to the USSR national team 0:4, at first caused a lot of rumors, given the nationality of the Cameroon national team coach. However, the conversations soon fell silent, since Cameroon still remained in first place, and the Soviet team did not leave the group.
In the 1/8 final match, Roger Milla surprises once again - this time his double in additional time the match with Colombia brings Cameroon a ticket to the quarterfinals. There, in extra time, the "indomitable lions" lost to the England team 2: 3, and scored two goals from the penalty spot.
After the match, Valery Kuzmich complained that his guys, leading 2:1, instead of playing to keep the score, ran to score the third goal. By the way, Omam-Biyik had a moment for this, but saved the England team
However, in any case, the national team at home was expecting a holiday - tens of thousands of people came to meet the team, players and coaching staff were awarded state awards. So Cameroon set the bar for all African teams, which since then has not been surpassed. And further. It was this performance that forced FIFA to revise the African quota and give the teams of the "black continent" the third place in the final stage of the world championships.
Of the next six world championships, the Cameroon team missed only, but its performance in the remaining five tournaments did not live up to the expectations of the fans. Of the 15 matches, Cameroon won only one and ended three in a draw, and in the last two tournaments the team lost all their matches.
The failure on was especially offensive. Then the Cameroonians had a very serious composition: Jeremy Njitap represented Real Madrid, Etome Laurent - Arsenal, Marc Vivien Foe - Lyon, Salomon Olembe - Marseille. The star of 21-year-old Samuel Eto'o was rising, Patrick Mbomba, Rigobert Song, Pierre Vome played in the team.
But the Cameroonians became victims of their carelessness: at first they missed the victory in the match with, and only won 1-0 against Saudi Arabia, and therefore they had to beat the German national team in the last round.
Now no one will believe it, but then the chances of Cameroon were quoted, if not higher, then at least on an equal footing with the Germans. But the Teutonic "Ordnung" took over the stellar, but not always organized and disciplined Cameroon.
At the last World Cup, the Cameroon team did not evoke any feelings other than disgust. Numerous scandals with bonuses, women of easy virtue, the absence of a fight, deliberate rudeness towards an opponent and fights among themselves - a team made up of, in general, not bad players, demonstrated only this in Brazil.
It is not surprising that the Cameroonians went home the very first, which no one, I think, regretted.
Cameroon team at Africa Cup of Nations
Cameroon's debut in the continental championships took place in the seventh edition of the African Cup of Nations in 1970. Then the "indomitable lions" won two victories in the group, but in terms of the difference between goals scored and conceded, they took only third place there. At the next tournament, which was held in Cameroon, this team became the third.
The "golden period" fell on the middle - the end of the 80s: three times in a row the Cameroon national team reached the final, winning two of them, in 1984 and 1988, and at the 1986 African Cup, the defeat in the final from Egypt happened only in the series post-match penalties.
The team of Eto'o, Song, Njitap, Mbomba and other stars of the early-mid 2000s took revenge on their predecessors: victories in the 2000 and 2002 CAF finals were achieved thanks to victories in football roulette.
The last success was recorded quite a long time ago, in 2008 (the African Cup of Nations is played every two years), Cameroon reached the final, but lost to the Ghana team 1:0.
The crisis in Cameroonian football also affected the performance of the national team at the continental championships - "indomitable lions", which, in last years more like capricious kittens, they missed two tournaments in a row, and at the last they could not leave the group.
Cameroon national football team players
Record holders for the number of matches played
- Rigobert Song - 137 matches.
- Samuel Eto'o and Jeremy Njitap - 118 each.
- Thomas N'Kono - 112.
- Francois Omam-Biyik - 74.
- Carlos Kameni - 70.
top scorers
- - 55 goals.
- Patrick Mbomba - 35.
- Francois Omam-Biyik and Roger Millat - 28 each.
- Pierre Vebo - 19.
- Jeremy Nzhitap and Eric Shupa-Moting - 13 each.
Cameroon national football team
Unlike the recent past, the current team is not replete with big names. A wide range of fans know Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Jean Makun, Stefan Mbia, Joel Matip, Eric Choupo-Moting.
It is possible to assemble a strong team around these players, but the first three have already exceeded 30, Matip will soon reach this age, and they do not see a change.
Cameroon national football team coach
Belgian Hugo Broos was appointed to his post in February 2016. This is the first national team in the career of a 64-year-old specialist. Prior to that, he worked with Belgian, Algerian, Greek and Turkish clubs.
With Club Brugge and Anderlecht he won the championship, Cup and Supercup of Belgium, was recognized four times best coach country.
present tense
Now Cameroon is fighting for a direct ticket to the 2018 World Cup with the teams of Algeria, Zambia and Nigeria. So far, after two rounds, the "indomitable lions" have two points, and the leading Nigeria already has six.
To be honest, after the 1990 World Cup, every time I sincerely worried about this team. But after what the Cameroonian football players showed to the world at the Brazilian World Cup, sympathy for this team faded away. For me, let Algeria come to Russia better. Or Nigeria.
Green, red
Story
The African Cup is the most disliked tournament for club coaches. This competition takes place in the middle of the European season, and you can’t let the players go. As a result, clubs are forced to do without leaders for up to a month and a half, which does not bring them satisfaction. As a rule, the players themselves are happy to go to defend the colors of their native countries, but there are exceptions.In winter, a number of Cameroonians immediately refused to participate in the African Cup. Goalkeepers André Onana (Ajax) and Guy N'Di Assembé (Nancy), defenders Joel Matip (Liverpool), Maxime Punje (Bordeaux) and Allan Nyom (West Bromwich Albion), midfielders André-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Marseille), Ibrahim Amadou (Lille), striker Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting (Schalke) The experienced Carlos Kameni, Henri Bedimo and Orellan Chedju also did not play in the tournament. Few believed in their absence However, the Belgian coach Hugo Broos gathered a youth hungry for victories that surprised the entire continent.
"Indomitable Lions" in the group ahead of the hosts of the Gabonese, led by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, then knocked out the main favorite of the tournament, the team of Senegal in the penalty shootout, dealt with the formidable Ghanaians in the semifinals, and in decisive match won strong-willed victory over the Egyptians. Cameroon, unlike its competitors, relied on a collective game. It is not surprising that only Michel Ngadu-Ngadji became the only player team that scored more than once.
As a result, the Cameroon national team regained the title of the strongest in Africa, winning the trophy for the fifth time.. "Indomitable Lions" is one of the most successful teams continent. They have previously won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1984 and 1988, as well as in 2000 and 2002. Twice more Cameroonians became the second. In 1990, the Indomitable Lions became the first African team to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup. As we remember, our compatriot Valery Nepomniachtchi led the team.
For the Cameroon national team, this Confederations Cup will be the third in history. In 2001, the "indomitable lions" could not leave the group, but in 2003 they reached the final, where they lost to the French 0:1 in overtime. Unfortunately, that tournament went down in history not as football, but as a tragedy. Cameroon midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe unexpectedly fell in the semi-final game against the Colombians. Doctors tried to start his heart, but he soon died due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. I want to believe that there will be no more such tragedies.
As already noted, Hugo Broos leads the Cameroon national team. The Belgian is not the most common football career, he defended the colors of only two clubs - rivals Anderlecht and Brugge. With Brussels, Broos won three national championships, four cups, and also won the UEFA Cup, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup (the last two tournaments twice each). With Brugge, Broos limited himself to only triumphs in the championship and the national cup. Having become a coach, he worked with a large number of teams, but achieved success only with the same Brugge and Anderlecht. With the first, Broos won the championship and the cup twice, with the second he limited himself to one championship. Broos' successes as a coach were in the mid-90s and a single shot with Anderlecht in the mid-00s, and many have already forgotten about him. The Belgian ended up in the Cameroon national team by accident. The local football federation announced an open competition for the post of head coach, and Broos sent his resume by e-mail. It is difficult to say the reason, but the choice fell on the Belgian. As it turned out, it was a great success.
Players of the level of Samuel Eto'o, Patrick Mbom, Lauren and even Jeremy Njitap are not in the current team. Most of the players are unknown to the general public, the national team includes representatives of the championships of Cameroon, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria and even Angola. However in the current composition There are a number of players to pay attention to.
Some of the players who refused the African Cup returned to the squad. In particular, Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana will come to the Confederations Cup, who had a great season. True, he will have to fight for a place on the field with Fabrice Ondoa, who was the first number in the tournament in Gabon. by the most famous football players In the current line-up, you can name the striker of Besiktas Vincent Abubakar and midfielder of Lorient Benjamin Mukanjo. Of the young players, first of all, it is worth noting Andre-Frank Zambo Anguisse. His Broos also returned. 21-year-old defensive midfielder in the last championship of France spent 37 matches in the "Marseille".The national team of Cameroon bears little resemblance to its samples of zero. The current team has become more European or something, more collective and not so dependent on the stars. However, therein lies the strength. The Cameroon national team may well create a sensation at the Confederations Cup.